Entry 59: Getting my Grove in The Big Pink

I’ve never been good about keeping a journal. It all boils down to consistency. There are days when I skip making an entry. Life can crowd out the time I need to write down my thoughts about a day’s events. I’ve also been reluctant to pose as an expert on the writing process. If I knew anything of value about writing, my work would already be in print. I went out on a skinny limb of a tall in 2022 when I shared my 365 days of thankfulness. The exercise forced me to put myself out there with my soft belly exposed. Thank you for joining me on my journey in the written word. Therefore, I plan to keep a journal in 2023 to document my progress. I will call Entry 59: Getting my Grove in The Big Pink.

Note: I consider editing an important part of the writing process. Editing is where all the artistry happens.

My morning writing before I started Entry 59: Getting my Grove in The Big Pink.

Today I did my morning pages without a single glitch. I rewrote two chapters in a steady flow of words. There are a few twists and turns that the original Amazing Buchanan and the Beast didn’t take when I wrote the first draft for NaNoWriMo. This version will make so much more sense and be stronger.I enjoyed my writing so much time got away from me. I will have to play catchup for the rest of the day.

There are blog posts I want to read that I didn’t get to yesterday. I also need to write a couple of Bop poems. I’m enjoying that style, but I still don’t think I’ve captured the funky tone they require. It might be because I’m not a funky person. I guess it doesn’t matter as long as I’m having fun. That is

The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 59: Getting my Grove in The Big Pink

I think I will be reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina for a while, butI don’t mind reading this story at a slow pace. I suspect I might even be dragging my feet, and I am at the point in the story where Levin goes to dine at the Shcherbatskys’ and sees Kitty for the first time since she turned down his proposal. Her response to him renews his hope. By the next morning, everything is settled.

Meanwhile, Anna sends a message to Karenina that she is dying and asks him to come, begging him to forgive her. He goes, and Vronsky is there. She’s had a baby, and it is a girl. We all know that Anna isn’t going to die because that would bring an end to the story.

When I was a kid, anything Russian bore the taint of communism. We were discouraged from reading or listening to anything Russian. It didn’t matter if the work was created before the Revolution. If it was Russian here in the heartland, it was anathema. That might be the reason I find reading Tolstoy so satisfying. I feel like a miscreant with every word I read.

What I’m listening to right now and Entry 59: Getting my Grove in The Big Pink

I listened to Counting Crows Recovering the Satellites while I wrote this morning.I find the lyrics of this group’s songs inspiring. It’s like they take a slice of everyday life, put a soundtrack to it, and lay it out for people to either take it or leave it without apologizing.

The thing I am most thankful for at this moment.

I am thankful the Cold War is behind us. Living through it when I was a child was so traumatic. I remember being so afraid an Atom Bomb would fall from the sky any second. This anxiety might have been heightened because we lived near an airforce base with a broken arrow incident in the 1960s. I think every generation has its worries and fears. I am grateful that we humans have short memories.

This old lady says

Take life one day at a time. It would help to remember that most of the scary stuff you imagine happening never does. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so live your life boldly today.

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

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